Turning 34 + Thanksgiving

My birthday is usually the week before Thanksgiving, but this year Turkey Day was a bit early, so it all fell into one big blur. This was a happy blur, since my parents came up North so we could all celebrate Thanksgiving in New Jersey with our extended family. Turning 34 was relaxing and uneventful in a good way! I'm happy to get another year on this planet, and think this year is going to be one of the more memorable, hectic and exciting ones, since I'll become a parent.

Our family had a fantastic time together, and I was so sad to see my parents leave after 5 days together. Maybe one day we can live closer to each other again. Or they can become reverse snowbirds!

I helped with the desserts this year. My cousin Meghan and I baked an apple pie, with a fancy top featuring an "H" for Huber and hockey sticks, since my cousin plays and most of the family is obsessed! It was a big hit. My younger cousin, Tommy and I also baked two perfect pumpkin pies, but I probably shouldn't spill his secret, since it's not "very manly"!

My aunt and uncle treated everyone to a charity hockey game called Operation Hat Trick, which raised over $500K to benefit those affected by Hurricane Sandy. A combination of the hockey lock-out, a charity event, and famous NHL hockey players on hand, it was the first time the Atlantic City Convention Center sold out since the 1930s.

Our family loves to play board games and card games. Hours were spent at the table playing Canasta, Jitters, Backgammon, Banana-grams, Cards Against Humanity, and doing a lot of smack talking. It was all in good fun, but now I'm having Canasta withdrawal sadly!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday as well, and I think we're all on the same wavelength wondering how it is already December! How did this  happen?!

Trains + Mountains

  As I mentioned before, all of my friends are having babies, buying  houses and getting married, so I've been playing catch-up on some gifts. This weekend I spent a 65 degree Fall day in Baltimore to meet my best friend Heather's newest baby, Ben. It was a bonus treat, since I also got to see her parents, and monkey around with her adorable toddler, Caleb.

Heather and her family are currently paring down things in their home, so I wanted to give her something that was not "stuff".  (Guess who is the extremely grateful recipient to many hand-me-downs including maternity clothes and baby boy items?!). I thought they'd enjoy small watercolors featuring her sons' birth stats, with references to their home in Virginia.

Ben's drawing features the skyline from Shenandoah National Park, which is a special place for her and her husband. Some of their major life events happened there, so I knew they'd enjoy the reference.

Her 15 month old, Caleb loves trucks and trains, so I thought a cute train with a red caboose was in order for his drawing.

Heather and her husband are such wonderful parents, and always find time to fit in fun and not be lunatics. They are great inspiration to Mike and me. Plus, it's always good to have friends who you can have fun with anywhere, even if it's on the side of a hill or in a parking lot at a mall in a slightly downtrodden Baltimore area!

Here's to many more years of friendship.

P.S. Yes, that is obviously not a maternity shirt I'm busting out of!

Making Friends in Adulthood

Many of my friends have expressed how hard it is to make good friends in their twenties and thirties. I agree that it can feel as awkward as dating at first! Unless, there is  an activity. Honestly, I think that activities are the secret to making friends at any time in your life. You all have the excuse of being there to mingle, whether it's a volunteer group, kickball league, pub trivia teams or my favorites: book club and knitting group. I've definitely mentioned my lifelong friends made over the years thanks to Wednesday night knitting circle at Rosie's Yarn Cellar.

Weekly pub quiz (or Quizzo) in Philly for years introduced us to a wonderful group of men and women, and where I met my delightful Arch-Nemesis.

As a volunteer co-chair for the Delaware Valley Green Building Council, I made great professional connections, but realized that no matter what age, people usually bond post-meeting by eating, drinking beer and cracking jokes.  They can hold their liquor and  still speak quite intelligently on sustainability, energy grids, local government and policy.

So what does this have to do with crabs? Particularly Maryland Bay Seasoned Blue Crabs?

Last year, through friends of a friend, I added another wonderful group to my Philadelphia network, the Book-It Girls. A friend started a book club, and even though all of them don't enjoy reading as much as others of us, it has become a long-lasting and tight-knit group. What a welcome surprise as I entered my 33rd year. I'm actually one of the older ladies in this group, so it's nice to have younger group of friends, especially as many of my friends are having babies, moving away, etc. (I realize the irony of this now that I am having a baby...)

The members of our book club attended a Bridal Shower / Bachelorette Weekend in Annapolis, Maryland this weekend to celebrate our founder's upcoming wedding. We attended a laid back shower in an open barn with gorgeous weather. One of the girls even brought along her 2 month old twins and husband.

After the shower, we went to an All-You-Can-Eat Crab dinner, then dancing and drinking (excluding me!) past midnight. It was a blast, and my baby bump and I enjoyed breaking it down on the dance floor while I'm still feeling good!

It may sound sappy, but it makes me so happy to have amazing friends in my life, and still be meeting new ones unexpectedly over the years. Not being from Philadelphia, we had to create a new network almost from scratch. After 8 years, we're still meeting new people, and seeing how intertwined all of our groups of friends are. Knitting overlaps with Sustainability and Book Club, etc.. until they're all just friends.

The Book Club girls have become the kind that you feel comfortable to talk about anything with, to have slumber parties in hotels, and to go buck wild on an epic breakfast on the road trip home after your abs hurt from laughing 24 hours straight.

Lesson learned: when moving or looking for new friends, join a club! Good times.

More Yellow

I'm using the hot days of summer as an excuse to sit inside, watching the Olympics, reading and knitting without feeling bad about not being outside too much. I left myself 4 days to read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, which was my book club's pick for this month. Just as my friends had told me, it's an edge of your seat psychological thriller. I'm glad I waited so long to read it, just so that I don't have to wait long to talk about how crazy the plot twists were with my girlfriends. Quick read, entertaining, suspenseful, and I'm still not sure if I like many of the characters. That may be a good thing though!

I've had 5 skeins of this lofty, beautiful butter yellow Twinkle Soft Chunky yarn in my stash for a couple of years. It was gifted to me, and I'm using it to make Wenlan Chia's Lacy Chunky Throw. It's knit on huge needles and goes a long way, but I'm thinking that I may need to buy 2 additional skeins to get it to the right size. My yarn budget may call for some heavy blocking instead! Isn't it pretty though? Yellow has become my own personal color of the year.

See what I mean? I can't get enough of it. I can't help myself from hoping fluorescents stay as long as possible! Fingers crossed...

The Long Haul is Over

The events have been planned, the trips are done, my to-do list has been trashed. As you can see, my self induced stress levels have reached an all time low! Summer is here in Philadelphia, disregarding the flannel needed for the work picnic last week.

My twice weekly Spanish classes ended, which I'll miss greatly. However, I'm looking forward to practicing a lot, in order to improve my conversational fluency, reading and listening skills. I ordered some Spanish workbooks, and will watch a lot of Javier Bardem and Gael Garcia Bernal movies for pure educational purposes!

I was able to visit Ohio and Indiana for an impromptu trip to see my brother-in-law defend his thesis on Jazz in the 1910s and 1020s in relation to migration and social activism. Pretty fascinating and I was so very proud of him. This trip coincided with one of my best friend's birthdays, so it was a reunion of all types!

Besides work, my committee, and the upcoming fiasco of having to either rent a U-haul or walk Mike's eight feet by six feet painting 0.8 miles home from a show, I feel like I'm on vacation!

So what's on the list for this summer? I'm thinking ice cream. I'm thinking kayaking. Finally walking over the Ben Franklin Bridge. Painting. Helping my dad with his new blogging endeavor! Street festivals with friends. Holding new babies belonging to my friends. Fancy cocktails with elderflower liquor. Farmers marketeering. A return to Quizzo. And lots of bike riding!

What about you? Summer activities I need to add to my list?

P.S. I got to cross off #23 Participate in some type of race, triathlon, soapbox derby, or Tough Mudder once. Participated in the 4 mile Out and Back Party Run April 2012!

Mimosa Bar + Cannoli Cream

I try to learn, every time. I don't have too much going on, so I start volunteering for little things. The conceptual part of me that loves brainstorming, connecting people, ideas and details goes crazy. Then the part of me that gets shiz done steps in to do just that. Before I know it, I realize that I'm happily signed up to co-host a baby shower, champion an event for a green building conference, co-chairing my programming committee, taking Spanish classes, planning an employee picnic, doing my job, and feeling bad about not finishing a baby sweater.

That is when the realistic part of me kicks in to make my lists, and I can decide to cater instead of cooking a damn thing. I'm getting better the older I get, and aim to only do the things that I truly want to do these days. Plus, I've definitely learned to embrace funny mistakes (including a dropped carrot cake) and to take food breaks to decompress (cheeseburgers from Five Guys).

I really enjoyed getting to bond more with Michelle, my co-host for the baby shower. We also enjoyed making the baby shower a day that would be meaningful to our dear and generous friend. The mom-to-be loves Peter Rabbit books, non-pink colors, and gardening. We delivered.

I personally loved the Mimosa Bar idea I've seen around the web, and wanted an excuse to purchase these bottles from Ikea for my juice! People loved serving themselves and mixing the juices. We tied bows of different colored ribbon around the champagne glasses to differentiate a bit to keep track. (Isn't my friend's house beautiful with her gray walls and cute Anthropologie plates?)

I potted mini herb pots for favors. One mint plant needed a bit of coaxing not to die, but I used some sunlight, a fan and some positive thinking to resuscitate him. I'm a big fan of useful gifts and favors instead of cutesy stuff that you feel guilty for purging on your next Goodwill donation trip. They were a hit!

Poor Michelle accidentally dropped the carrot cake and felt terribly about it. My job was to talk her off the ledge and explain why it did not matter one bit. I said, nobody cares what it looks like if it has cream cheese frosting. (Am I right?) She had a great idea for me to create a bunting and I carved some lines into the cake to fix it. I labeled it, "Slightly Squashed Carrot Cake" and we called it a day.

Michelle made pizelle cups filled with the best cannoli cream in our region and berries. What a hit. We ensured quality by visiting the charming 43 years married couple who make award winning cannolis and asking them their secrets while taste testing chocolate and traditional creams. I can attest that Cipolli Cannolis are truly the best I've ever had.

I did buckle down and make a 5 ingredient salad. You can't live on sugar and flour entirely, afterall.

Lastly, we hung decorations, plated everything nicely and kicked back with some mimosas to get us in the party mood and provide a laid back atmosphere for guests. I think that is truly the secret to a fun party. No stress!

Though I did try to cut myself off the night before, I couldn't stop myself from making the cutest pins in the entire history of the world for the Mom-to-be and her family members. I did allow one pink pin to pass for the Paternal Grandma-to-be who just loves pink. But she also knows how to use a chop saw, so that deserves its' own award and a pass!

32 to 33

I turned 33 on November 19th. As I'm thinking of fun things I want to cross off my list for my 33rd year, I wanted to remember what I did in my 32nd year. After procrastinating, I realized it was because I ended up feeling the urge to write so much. Documentation... In no particular order, and with plenty of rambling, I present 32:

Played Aeron Chair Hockey for Herman Miller and made it to the Final Four. Got four bruises just on my left knee. Had the best time ever.

Attended Art Basel 2010 in Miami with my Mom, Aunt Marty and Amanda. I got to see and touch one of Ai Weiwei's Sunflower Seeds from the Tate Modern, roll on indoor hills with palm trees, squeeze through a 18" wall, visit a huge Frank Stella painting and run into a Philly friend randomly.

I learned how to make a chevron friendship bracelet when they had a nostalgic return this past year. It had always eluded 4th grade Marissa. I'm shocked at how easy it truly was (kind of like knitting cables for the first time).

I paid a lot of attention to my surroundings, colors and combinations based on my color study project. Did a project for Mike's Color Theory class and killed it!

I got to hang out at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and see some old battleships. I learned and helped run a program on GPIC (Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster). I became Co-Chair of an educational programming committee for the local chapter of the United States Green Building Council.

I got to travel by car, by cruise boat, by train, by airplane, by bicycle and by flippers.

I had dinners with friends, BBQs, mussels, walks, ice cream trips and beers.

Mike and I took a road trip to my hometown in South Florida in July to meet up with our Swedish honorary relatives, and their six month old daughter,  Norah who stole my heart with a toothless smile and lots of drool. We had an amazing time catching up with Norah and her parents, whom I consider honorary siblings. I can't even properly explain how much their family means to my own.

And speaking of family, my husband's family also came down to Florida where we hung out with my parents before heading out on a Caribbean cruise. It was a great to spend time with everyone, and have my parents get to know Mike's family more. I feel very lucky to have so many wonderful people in my life.

On the cruise, we cheesed it up and did everything that you're supposed to on the cruise, including the Electric slide in bikinis, water slides with my nephew in the first hour, banana and pina coladas, snorkeling with barracuda, lots of sunscreen, and hamming it up by taking  fake romantic prom type photos with my sister-in-law, Becky (to the horror of our nephews and various passengers!) I discovered that I very much like playing Roulette (and winning 7 hands at a time) with my brother-in-law, Todd while sipping on Amaretto Sours.  Lastly, I introduced a true Surf and Turf meal when it was not on the menu and got my sister-in-law Cheryl and nephew to follow suit. It was epic.

This year presented the opportunity to work in our Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina office most of the summer. I made some wonderful new friends, got to enjoy gorgeous weather (and skip the tail end of Spring in the North), and enjoy lots of retail therapy with my overtime pay and savings due to lack of grocery shopping.

I visited Carol's farm where I met her 17 hand horse (1600 pounds!) Indy and saw her garden.  I explored the area. I went to Nantucket Grill to eat their pecan crusted tilapia, freshly baked beignets and free cake on Tuesdays weekly. I was introduced to "beach music" and reintroduced to Shag dancing (shout-out to my favorite movie growing up) by my sweetheart of a friend, Dana.

I inherited a pseudo "work dad" and learned a lot from my friend Bob. I got my friend Kevin to laugh at one of my jokes finally! I bonded with Amy and her daughter who is smart as a whip, sweet as the cotton candy we got hyper on, hilarious, artistic, well read and a jeweler in the making. I took the team to a Durham Bulls game in 100 degree weather during a brush fire, but we still prevailed. Then I said goodbye, but promised to keep in touch, and visit again someday soon.

I got to spend time with more of the babies I'm an honorary Aunt to. My best friend Heather and her husband Nathan had sweet Caleb in July! I got to go on walks to the park with my 10 month old friend, Liam.  I went trick or treating for the first time in years with Liam and adorable 2-year-old Gavin. We ate Indian food with the most affectionate and dimpled cutie, Marco. I also got to see my 3-year-old godson, Sonny, who continues to amaze me with his intelligence, sense of humor and dance moves. We danced, swam and played lots of imaginary games. I love hanging with these little dudes so much.

Watched from the other side of the world as my dear cousin had to say goodbye to her own four-day old son who is now their little angel, Liam. Grieved with my family for them, and sent lots of love and prayers in my own way. Through it all, I was amazed by my cousin and her husband's strength and faith.

I joined a book club with a group of the coolest and friendliest bunch of ladies that I immediately heart times twenty. They're mainly friends of friends, and for good reason - everyone rocks. I wish I had met all of these people when I moved to Philly 7 years ago.

I merged this group of awesome women with some Quizzo / art related folks and my amazing group of Degenerate Knitters for the Tie Dye party. Success and new friends aplenty!

I rode my bike 17 miles with Robin and Layla and enjoyed it.

Walked home in the rain and loved seeing the watery reflections. Walked / ran 3.5 miles in 17 degree weather with Layla and Kim. Watched my friend Layla go from not being a runner to completing her first 1/2 marathon!

Flossed 100% of the time, 89% per cent of the time. Oh, and watched Anchorman, The Legend of Ron Burgandy at least twice.

Painted a bunch of color studies. Painted with oil paint. Drew. Wrote. Read.

Baked loaves of bread. Made soup. Made sweets!

Learned to rewire a lamp. Rewired a lamp I'd been meaning to fix for years.

Made the prettiest and brightest quilt for Norah with Jay McCarroll's fabrics. Never got around to taking a picture, or bringing my camera to Florida or our cruise for that matter.

Cooked a couple of the nastiest meals ever, which resulted in calling Domino's pizza (I know, it was that bad), and eating Cheetos and cereal another time. On the flip side, I made some amazing dinners to counterbalance the universe as well.

Played more than my fair share of Angry Birds and Angry Birds Rio. Full disclosure.

Bought myself a pair of Ray Bans to replace my scratched up but much-loved Arnettes from the 10th grade! Purple ombre shades pleased me, and act as a souvenir from my time in North Carolina. (Treat Yo Self!)

Mike and I saved our pennies and treated ourselves to a MacBook Pro!

Put some money into my emergency fund and future house fund. Yay for saving instead of spending, with a few thoughtful purchases thrown in.

Purged my belongings, donated, gave away and recycled. Tried to be more thoughtful about what I brought into my home.

We celebrated our first anniversary and nine years together. Sheesh! Coincidentally, we were home at my mom's where she had saved our wedding cake, ate it and it was surprisingly not only good, but outstanding, moist and decadent. Impressive.

I knit my third sweater, and am giving socks another try. Met some knitters in North Carolina. Knitted with some Philly knitters at Courtney and Kate's new digs for Kelbourne Woolens and had the best pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting thanks to Maura. I attended a wonderful craft night at Andrea's house where I met even more cool women (seriously, 7 years after living in Philly, they all appear?)

We tried to see more live music this year, since we've been lazy about doing that. My favorite shows of the year were seeing The National and Yo Lo Tengo at The National Academy of Music, and Jens Lekman at The Philadelphia Ethical Society.

Danced along to Milli Vanilli videos (a semi-annual occurance) as an impromptu and always exhilarating activity in honor of my brother.

Enjoyed some seriously good television shows, and got sucked in to the storylines. Arrested Development (after meaning to watch for years), Dexter (with the girl from White Chicks, ha!), Homeland, Parks and Recreation, Community, True Blood (more fun than anything, I'll admit) and the Big Bang Theory (I get way too many of the nerdy references though!).

Reconnected with old friends from high school this summer. Had drinks at a bar that with a giant shark and wolf painted in the restroom. Went dancing and stayed out until past my bedtime and felt like I should have a curfew again. (Did I mention I was staying at my parent's house?)

Further researched the finesse and tricks to imitating the Boston Accent. Failed miserably but continued to use my new catch phrase, "I'd like a beeh and a buhrh-gah" enough times to annoy Mike in a good way.

Visited Amanda and D in New York for a wonderful day including the Sonia Delauney show at the Cooper Hewitt Museum and some heart to heart talks.

Visited with KJ and Trey for more NYC time including a summer picnic in the park, belly laughs, cheese plates, new ways to slice mangoes and giving KJ an airplane ride while wearing my zigzag maxi-dress like a diaper for modesty.

Recaulked the tub.

Won Quizzo at least twice.

Participated in Cheesesteak Friday with my good friend Erika. It's an unofficial sometimes weekly event where we decide our lunches are inedible, boring and not fatty enough, so purchase foot long cheesesteaks from the cart outside of work. It's the best way to end the work week!

Started blogging on my new blog (hello, and thanks for reading this far!)

Read Julia Child's My Life in France and loved it. Bought Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume I right after, and made Quiché Lorraine and Coq Au Vin.

Went to the Headhouse Farmer's Market with Olivia on Sundays, often. Cooked together and made some fun meals.

Cried while watching the last Harry Potter Movie this summer.

Donated blood consistently every...6 weeks? O positive, baby!

Was re-certified in CPR / AED training.

Felt an earthquake.

Saw a memorial to the late, great, Steve Jobs.

Visited Virgina. Visited Valley Forge. Visited D.C. Visited N.C. Visited Charleston, S.C.

Witnessed one of my best friends, Helena marry Doug in Charleston, South Carolina. Got to hug her mom one last time and show Mike how Florida girls all booty dance when they get together. At the request of the bride and groom, ran out to the Rocky theme song, fake punched her uncle and was completely victorious. Philly represent!

Helped Mike reach his goal of finally setting up his artist website! Watched him get into a juried show in Cincinnati. Proud of him for finishing his major painting. Nice job, dude.

Took a decent headshot for my professional life and LinkedIn, etc. By myself. Booyah.

Got to read my nephew's first chapter of a WWI novel that blew my mind away.

Hosted a Degenerate Knitter's brunch at my house and got to make Creme Brulee French Toast yet again.

Had Jeremy and Becky (sis and bro in law) visit us in Philly!

Wore my highschool letter jacket once this year, until it nearly destroyed my friend's stroller due to some disintegration.

Discovered delicata squash and french lentils.

Expanded our cocktail / bar cart collection.

Reconnected with an old friend, Kari, who stayed with us while her ceramic pieces were in a show. Love the types of friends where you pick right back up after 3 months, 5 years, etc. Friends where you can truly be yourself.

Played some board games. Played Poker. Watched Mike's mom beat everyone majorly playing poker (priceless).

Got to give my dad lots of hugs while I was home. Get to chat with my mom almost daily.

Cuddled with some of my favorite dogs (to tide me over until I can get my own). Spent Christmas in Indiana with the East clan.

Watched a lot of sunsets from my kitchen and studio windows. Called Mike over to watch too and vice versa.

Was grateful for another year, filled with highs, lows, laughs, tears, love and life.

Fall is Definitely Here

Growing up in Florida, I never gave the seasons too much thought. It was hot, hotter, dry or rainy. My little brother and I would get so excited for those few days each year that necessitated wearing a sweater, and would spend entire days outside in heaven. We asked my Grandpa to mail us snow and were incredulous that he couldn't do it since it would melt. We really didn't understand why he couldn't try to mail it just once. I always wanted to live where I could experience the seasons, or Southern California and surf.

After 15 years of living up North, I've definitely adjusted and really enjoy the changes in season. Those miserable months of winter are worth it when you feel giddy from the first traces of crisp air and cloudless blue sky.

Fall is watching the leaves start to change even though you start missing the sun. It can be carving pumpkins with friends drinking freshly pressed cider.  It is trick or treating with even younger friends if you're lucky like me and can crash with a 10 month old bunny and an 18 month old monkey.

For me, it's that urge to clean out my closet, pull out the sweaters and organize. It's a craving for S'mores and pumpkin flavored baked goods, beer and coffee drinks. I start wanting to wear and even paint with different colors.

Fall arrives with the changes in food at the Farmer's Market and a new favorite, delicata squash. It's the return of honeycrisp apples and rainbow chard!

My palette starts to change and I want to drink warm drinks and make and eat hearty soups. I actually want to cook these pretty French lentils instead of look at them in their jar.

Most notably, it's the return of strong desire to knit cozy wool garments!

Where do you live and what does Fall mean to you?

Fluorescent Orange, Hot Pink + Marks!

On a recent trip to the art store, I added a new watercolor tube to my collection.  Some colors you cannot mix, since they are too intense.  That is the case with Winsor Orange Red Shade, which was nearly fluorescent orange in the store. I had to play with it right when I got home.  I also picked up a new nib tool for masking fluid. So far it works very well! I love making these marks. I'll have to do a series in the near future.

The urge to make marks came out in Color Study #45: Parking Entry on Broad Street. I've never included marks (besides palette scrapings), but it seems suitable.

During a lunchtime walk with my favorite coworker, we checked out the new Lenfest Plaza next to Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.  They installed these wonderfully deep and long serpentine curved wood slat benches, and of course "The Paint Torch" by Claes Oldenburg.  I'm still deciding how I feel about the paintbrush, but it is an act of physics for it to be freestanding at such a steep angle.

Walking back to work, we passed by a lined entryway into a parking garage that had bright greenish yellow and blue paint.  Coincidentally, it included the exact same shades as a skein of yarn I gifted to my friend Lisa on her birthday recently.

As you can see, I was inspired by the brightness and pulled out my inks for the brilliance factor.

Talk about bright! The 80s are truly back, and I can't say that I'm disliking this fact! Somehow, I don't think I'm alone in this enthusiasm.

Combining Households + Purging

Every time the seasons change, I have the urge to clean my home, simplify and purge anything I don't need.  Living in a smaller apartment with limited storage seems to feed this desire as well.  If ten things are out of place, we feel like we're living in squalor. I was discussing this with someone who was having trouble combining her home with her new husband, and created a semi-flow chart to work out my thoughts.  However, I feel that it can also apply to anyone combining styles or looking to trash and donate belongings.

Here are my five rules for combining and purging:

1. Don't force another member of your household to get rid of something that they truly love.

They'll end up resenting you.  Instead, see if you can find a way to incorporate it into your merged styles.  Can it be reupholstered, painted, slipcovered, etc?  Play nice with each other! And who knows, they may change their mind later on, or it could be your ugly-beloved piece you get to keep!

Conversely, if you both have equal items that each other cannot stand, you could both agree to get rid of both of your items.

2. If you have multiples of the same item, keep the most valuable and donate the rest.

However, if it is something that is very valuable, may break or require replacement, feel free to keep it if you have the storage space.  Backup items may be good, as Mike points out when he used one of our 9 million towels during a recent flood in our apartment.

3. If you're not sure about getting rid of something, put it aside to decide later.

Sometimes I'll put things that I'm undecided about donating in a box.  I'll let it sit in my house, and after a few weeks, I've made up my mind.  If I feel anxious that it's even in that box, it's probably something I should keep for now.

4. Try not to get too sentimental about your belongings.

Belongings certainly have sentimental value and memories with them.  The best combination is loving the item and the sentiment behind it.  But if you don't like the item but love the sentiment, what do you do?

I've heard of people taking pictures of the belonging and that can let them release it. Another idea is to gift it to someone who will truly love the belonging, and the story behind it.

5. If the item is still in a box that has moved one or more times without being opened, you can probably get rid of the item!

This is a tough one, but everyone seems to have one of these boxes.  It's usually filled with old computer parts that nobody knows what they even do.  But you're scared to throw them out since the second you do, you'll need it.

Now I hope to follow my own advice and edit ruthlessly while I work on my apartment this weekend. It needs it!  Any tips that help you to clear out your house?

Ode to Josef Frank Kitchen

When I was studying interior design in college, my favorite part of every project was the schematic and conceptual work.  I would scrounge magazines and books for inspiration with multiple cups of coffee at my favorite bookstore, sketch furiously and take pages of notes.  I'd always find an excuse to buy more beloved Tria markers from Pygmalion's Art Supply for my renderings. I loved it because it's that exciting stage where anything seems possible.  You can go crazy with ideas, options and color before you need to rein it in and focus.  Plus, I love to draw with pen and ink, and use watercolors and pens.

It's a place where you can decide to create an entire kitchen based on wanting to use a beloved Josef Frank textile as wallpaper paired with a lemon-lime SMEG refrigerator.

I miss doing this type of work.  Since I don't currently have a job where I get to help clients in this way, or a home to renovate yet, I remembered my fictional clients from college and drew upon them for inspiration.  I'm vowing to do this at twice a month to keep these creative juices alive.

Enter Molly Albers, a young librarian living in Astoria who inherited a small apartment from her dear Grandmother Mil (short for Mildred).  It's small and the kitchen doesn't have the best work triangle, but she makes it work.  She had a bit of money saved up and spent it doing some small cosmetic kitchen renovations.

Molly is somewhat reserved at work, so when she comes home, she likes to let loose with color and pattern.  She fell in love with the Josef Frank Hawaii 315 Fabric while browsing through books at work, and splurged on the wallpaper.  Her very hip grandma Mil happened to have this fridge (let's just go with it).  Molly is learning to cook more, and decided to go with less counter space for this kitchen so that she could have a larger island with seating and workspace (she's learning to bake bread).  Plus she had limited options without changing the water and gas lines.

She decided to leave the existing stove, and installed white subway tile with light gray grout to balance out the black wallpaper and colorful floral print.  When they ripped up the parquet flooring, there was some concrete underneath that they stained with a slight violet gray.

She installed butcher block countertops and simple white shelves to hold her tableware, cookbooks, vases and dry goods.  She likes how the open shelves allow more of the beautiful wallpaper to show.  There is also additional storage under the island on the side opposite the seating.

Molly waited patiently for a year searching, and finally scored a pair of hot pink Tolix Marais Counter Stools on eBay, which she lugged back on the subway with her best friend Peter.  She put her unwanted Ikea stools on the curb to pass along the good karma to someone else.

The last detail we noted was the red library stool from the basement in the library that her sweet boss insisted she take after hearing she needed one to reach her growing library of cookbooks.

Thanks for accompanying me in letting my imagination run wild with me tonight!

Terrain vs. Plant Killer

I got to attend the Design*Sponge Book Event at Terrain earlier this month.  It was so much fun to run into old and new friends, drink spiked cider and get a copy of Grace's beautiful book. My friend Olivia and I both had air plants on the mind on this trip.  Olivia is my plant guru and gardening expert, so I asked her to pick out one for me.  I'm hoping I don't kill it like I did the Baby Tears plant from last year.

I love houseplants.  The little shots of green add life to a home.  However, I need to remember to rein it in so I don't have the Amazon Rainforest going on in here.  Ten is usually my limit of smaller plants, but I think everyone has to find their own balance.

Luckily (for the ratio), I am pretty bad with succulents (I know, they're supposed to be hearty and impossible to kill), so this allows me to get new plants from time to time.

Speaking of new plants, I've never been the biggest fan of ferns, but this little guy caught my eye.  The leaves are a different shape than others I've found and the structure is so cool.

I was even inspired to do a little watercolor.  In hindsight, it may be good to document it before I possibly kill this one too.

What are your thoughts on houseplants.  Do you love them or hate them?

Lamps + Swarvoski Crystals

I was lucky to have my mom travel with me from South Florida to Bloomington, Indiana to help me move into my college dorm at Indiana University years ago.  It was a week where everything went wrong.  UPS went on strike so nothing could be shipped, a broken refrigerator had to be moved uphill, there was a hit and run on our rental car, the airline broke my stereo, my well-meaning mom inviting my 5th year senior male RA to go to Target with us (just embarrassing at the time to an 18-year-old who was trying to be cool, but he was really happy to come along), and instead of living in the castle-like dorm, I was assigned to the former barracks up the hill.  I also experienced my first time without air conditioning, which this Floridian had never heard of.

It all worked out exactly as it should, and my mom and I laugh hysterically when we recall this hellish trip.  The broken fridge mishap with newly purchased milk led me to my best friend. The Target run helped me become fast friends with the greatest RA, and the barracks ended up being the best place imaginable with the exception of catching on fire later that year.

One of the best parts of that crazy week the $10 Haeger Pottery lamp my mom found at Good Will for my room.   This and a spray painted silver block would be in heavy rotation for the next 13 years.  Years later, I still love my lamp, and recently re-wired it after it broke.  It has this really pretty brass harp decoration on top, and I need to get a new shade that will fit this detail and look better on the lamp. The shade should be a tad shorter in height in my opinion.

The only floor lamp I have must be retired, since it is the poster child of a fire hazard.  (Don't worry, it is not plugged in).

Needless to say, we need new lamps.  But, I'm going to hold off until I find one that I really like or can refurbish, possibly spray paint and rewire.  In the meantime, I sketched up some ideas that caught my eye.

I also sketched some pendant lamps for the future, since I am not installing hanging lamps in my rental.

One day I would love a crazy chandelier (or two or three).

I really liked the fabricated metal pendant lamp that Julianne Moore designed for her assistant's home.

Lastly, if I won the lottery and would not have guilt of spending thousands of dollars on a chandelier, I'd purchase the 24" diameter Schonbek DaVinci Chandelier which is made of thousands of Swarovski crystals and is apparently dishwasher safe.  Note to self, also purchase a dishwasher and a ballroom to place said chandelier.

Sadly, Schonbek's website is no longer working, but here's a picture in my inspiration books in all of its glory.

Where are some of your favorite lamps from?

Lines and Chevrons

I keep blank watercolor cards and envelopes on hand at all time so that I can easily whip up cards when I need them.  With some major life events happening for a few of my friends (both good and bad, which is when blank cards come in handy for your heartfelt messages), I needed to either head over to the card store or make a large batch quickly. I went for the latter.  For quick and easy, nothing beats watercolors in my opinion.  You just need a bit of water, paper and a brush.  Having worked in a wonderful small art store during college, I can go on indefinitely about art supplies, but I'll save that for a later post.

In this case, I used masking fluid, which is like a glue that covers paper that you don't want the paint to touch, and you pull off when the paint is dry. I'm usually a frenetic sketcher who uses lots of crazy black lines, so it was good to experiment with white spaces to change it up.

After having the stunning cover image from Sarah Midda's South of France Sketchbook in my head for days, I decided to attempt my own loose interpretation with various palettes.

Those who know me won't be surprised that I had to include a rainbow palettes gradating from color to color.

Oddly for me, since the palette above is my nearly neutral with the bright hues I love, I found myself enjoying how the peach masking fluid looked.  I particularly found myself drawn to the burnt umber and colors of the Utah landscape shown below.

I also tried to edit myself with the color choices. This messy chevron card was one of my favorites.  It now has a home with one of my dearest and oldest friends in Georgia.

This polka dots card ended up being much cuter than I thought it would be.  When it comes to watercolor, you could never get the even washes of colors around the white areas without the masking fluid.

I did some batik inspired cards, and a flowery one that I sent to the sweetest 11-year-old friend of mine in North Carolina to thank her for a lovely necklace she made me.

This ended up being a lot of fun, and I achieved the result I intended; loose drawings and lines, different color combinations, some love thrown in to the end users and a bit of hot pink, but in check.

Hot Pink Fixation + Schnabel Inspiration

Hot pink makes my heart skip a beat. It's one of those colors that makes me immediately like whatever object, furniture or piece of art it's on. After reading Shannon Leith's post on color today, I see I'm not the only one. Well, us, most people in the 80s and definitely Julian and Olatz Schnabel. I came across Olatz Schnabel's bedroom in last September's House Beautiful. The room, the custom headboard, the sheets she designs and unique color sense were all inspiring, but even more so was her vintage hot pink rug.

The Schnabel's rug and this brilliant pink one from Living Etc. magazine below are the two rugs I measure all vintage dream rugs by.

The closest I will get to my dream rug for now is owning it in my sketchbook. That suits me for now!

I prefer vibrant hot pink, geometric shapes with diamonds and triangles.

Sometimes I like the look of many threadbare vintage rugs layered upon each other in a bohemian style. It's not something I could live with all the time, but I love the look.

I'll leave you with one more amazing shot of hot pink goodness. This is the Schnabel's highrise in New York City, which I need to see in person next time I'm up there! Apparently it's between two Richard Meier skyscrapers, and I'm sure many of the homeowners are not happy. I feel their pain, but I can't help but grin from ear to ear when I see this image. I think the blue ladder really adds something too.  (Note to self: future color study, hot pink and blue violet).

Pantry Ideas + Drawing Grains

I've been collecting jars for food storage for about six years now. My husband and friends make fun of me, but I don't care. Personally, I think they're just jealous of the beauty that is a jar of French Lentils. Plus, looking at all of those healthy foods lined up, it makes me want to eat, cook and bake in healthier ways.

If you're going to display your dry goods, it helps to make sure everything is lined up nicely and neatly. I prefer if the shelves are shallow and everything is lined up only one row deep. I also think that clear jars really let the colors and textures of the grains or dried goods stand out. Necessity in a manner that can be lovely.

Dried apricots, burnt umber couscous, creamy jasmine rice, yellow pepitas, 70s green split peas and pecans waiting to be baked into sweet treats. Is it just me, or do others go nerdy over this type of storage?

Who better to showcase this concept than the covet worthy pantry of EmersonMade? The organization and simple yet pleasing aesthetic make me swoon. And plenty more people judging on how this image has been repinned and blogged multiple times.

Who can go wrong with this cheery storage and rainbow colored painted bowls? Though I do wonder just how many bowls one home can have? I'd hope that they host an annual ice cream social and vie for the Guinness Book of World Records for something. The narrow height of the shelves would allow for less wasted space.

This is my own current storage for our wealth of dinnerware and lack of cabinet space. Looking at everything lined up and the $30 steal of vintage lead-free Fiesta Ware makes me smile.

Though I like to look at pretty things, I do like to hide everything once in awhile. If you can style your belongings nicely, and keep everything neat, overhead open shelves like these are perfect. The white shelves on white walls integrates it into the wall, and makes it look more streamlined and neat in my opinion.

This custom unit is quite the focal point in this San Francisco family's kitchen. I would incorporate a display of food storage, cookbooks, and favorite cookware and kitchen goods, all lovingly arranged of course.

Lastly, here's one more for inspiration. Streamlined, color coordinated to some extent, with a great natural wood ladder and a faucet that makes me forget about the shelves.

Seriously, I want one of those faucets! It reminds me of washing the dishes in my coffee-slinging, barista days.